


Snowfall

by lisa_london



Series: The Stag and The Frog [3]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: A Song of Ice and Fire References, Alligators & Crocodiles, Before They Met, Blacksmithing, Boys Kissing, Boys like to kiss, Canon Compliant, Children, Christmas Fluff, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family Fluff, Family History, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluffity fluff fluff FLUFF, Fluffpalooza, Gendry Waters is a Baratheon, Gendry and Meera are OTP, Grandmothers, House Baratheon, House Lannister, House Reed - Freeform, Inspired by A Song of Ice and Fire, King's Landing, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, Lord Gendry Waters, M/M, Meera Reed - Freeform, One Shot, One Shot Collection, POV Gendry Waters, Poor Gendry Waters, Post - A Game of Thrones, Pre-season 7 I guess, Prequel, Romantic Fluff, Snow, Snowball Fight, Storm's End (ASoIaF), Stormlands - Freeform, The Rains of Castamere (song), Toddlers, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Westeros, Westeros Christmas, Winter, Winter Wonderland, Witches, Young Father, a lion still has claws, also some boys kissing, fluff just pure fluff, parenting, swamp, the Neck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:21:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28113051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lisa_london/pseuds/lisa_london
Summary: The first snow starts to fall over Westeros, the first sign of the approaching threat from the North.As the snow falls you will get to drop in on a couple of different characters in the kingdom. Gendry is still a blacksmith and working in King's Landing. Meera Reed has just returned to the Neck from her journey North.
Relationships: Meera Reed/Gendry Waters, Tyrek Lannister/Original character
Series: The Stag and The Frog [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1880818
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	1. Gendry

**Author's Note:**

> This a one-shot collection adjacent to my main story The Stag and The Frog. It's a collection of stories set before that story began, that shows the characters going about their days as the first snow starts to fall over Westeros.
> 
> All the stories are set somewhere around season 7 in the Game of Thrones universe and they're all canon-compliant. (But built upon the canon established in the Stag and The Frog, which is also canon-compliant but adds details not mentioned in the show. For example, Tyrek Lannister is in this universe the current holder of Storm's End (he's sent there to hold it for the Lannisters after the death of Renly and Stannis), and Davos has 4 sons (Mathos who is diseased, but also Devan, Stannis, and Steffon which are the younger sons mentioned in the books).

A light powder of white laid on the ground when Gendry stepped out of the workshop. It glistened in the pale moonlight and stood out against the black night sky. The sight surprised him. He had been fast at work by the furnaces and not noticed the snow falling outside.

On the streets, music and cheering echoed. The first snowfall was always a time of celebration. Not because the snow was a good thing, but because it might the common people’s last chance to celebrate before the cold entrenched on every aspect of their lives. Food would soon be scarce and children would freeze as the firewood ran out. So they ate what they had now and danced the night away before they could dance no more. Happiness was never taken for granted in Fleabottom.

He walked down brightly illuminated streets, the snow made everything shine in another light. As a couple of the queen’s guards passed he tried to blend into the shadows. Even after all these years, they scared him. Maybe they would one day recognize him as Robert’s bastard.

When he came back to the capital he had done as Davos told him and hid in plain sight. He returned to his old job in Tobho Mott’s workshop as if nothing had happened. The only thing he had done to hide was to cut his hair, to make his resemblance with Robert less obvious.

So he had worked. That was the only thing he did. After the sept blew up his master hadn’t returned to the workshop. They said Tobho Mott had been killed in the explosion. But it was also possible that he had taken the opportunity to escape. Because, as Gendry soon became aware of as he tried to run the workshop in his master’s absence, the workshop was failing and owed great sums to several creditors.

Gendry had continued working tirelessly, trying to pay the debts. Because what else was there to do? He worked day and night it seemed. And as the war drew closer armor became more sought after. Although making weapons for the family that had killed his father, and almost killed himself, was hardly what Gendry wished for it did keep the workshop afloat and put food in his belly.

But what did it matter? Sometimes he wondered if this was all there. Work and more work. And then an early death caused by conditions caused by the workload.

He had been saved from dying at the hands of his uncle. But was he really worth saving if this was all his life ever amounted to? Another bastard meeting an early death in the alleys of Fleabottom.

There had to be something more. The thought wouldn’t leave him.

He walked up to a pie stall to get something to eat, even if he wasn’t celebrating he could eat at least eat something good for once.

As he put a coin on the counter the lady in the stall shook her head. “Gendry,” she said. “You know you don’t have to pay.”

“But you know I will always try,” he replied and smiled. The woman was round and had curly dark hair, just like her son. The friend Gendry had left behind on the way. He had visited her to tell her of her son’s whereabouts soon after he returned. She deserved to know that Hot Pie was alive and well. Hopefully better off than in the capital.

“It was a long time since I saw you,” she said and returned the smile. 

“I’ve been busy,” he said and took his pie. “Thank you.”

He left quickly, worried to be seen talking to Hot Pie’s mother. That’s why he didn’t come around often. Perhaps the queen knew he had traveled with his friend. Perhaps she would be able to find him if he connected with his family.

He walked to the cliffs that overlooked the harbor and sat down to eat. This was where he and Hot Pie often had sat together when they were young. Hollering and bickering as boys did.

Gendry missed him. He missed Arya. He missed… someone.

He could hear the life of the city, music, and voices. But he couldn’t join them.

His life these days was lonely. No one to care for or to care for him. But it was his own choice. He could have found a girl, settled down, had a couple of children. Most men his age did. He wasn’t a bad looking guy, he knew that from the way girls smiled at him in the back-alleys.

But Gendry couldn’t allow himself to love. Not with the threat hanging over his head that one day the queen would come for him. He didn’t believe that she had forgotten. One day she would come for him. And if he had a wife and children she would hurt them too. 

And then there was Arya. He couldn’t forget her. He couldn’t forget the time they shared together. They had been so miserable then but now it all seemed like a happy dream. Because they had got through it, together.

He hadn’t been lonely back then at least.

After finishing his pie Gendry got up. He walked back to the workshop and started working again. Work never stopped. When he wasn’t working on customer’s orders he worked on something for himself. A weapon. Just like his father’s. 

Gendry didn’t know much about his father, but he knew one thing, he knew Robert Baratheon fought with a warhammer. And when he worked on that hammer during late nights he felt less alone. He felt like he had a family. He felt like he belonged somewhere.

***

When the first morning sunlight started peering in through the window the next morning Gendry still worked. He looked out, the snow seemed to be melting again, pondering if he should try to get a few hours of sleep. But it hardly seemed worth it.

He leaned on the workbench for a moment as he tried to gather the strength for another day or work. Another day of thousands of days of work in front of him. Then he took a sword, put it on an anvil, and started hammering. 

“Wasn’t sure I’d find you here,” a voice suddenly said behind.

Gendry turned around and found himself face to face with a familiar bearded face. A face he’d never thought he would see again. But he was happy he’d been wrong. He greeted his friend with a smile and nod.

“Thought you might still be rowing,” Davos continued with a smile.

They exchanged pleasantries and caught each other up on recent events. But Gendry knew that wasn’t why Davos had come.

“You came to get me?” he asked bluntly. “You want me to come with you?”

“I think you need to understand-” Davos started, seemingly prepared to convince Gendry.

“I’m ready,” Gendry said, with no hesitation. He went to get his few belongings and lastly his hammer. “Let’s go.”

Gendry left King’s Landing that day. He left to find something more. He left the loneliness and hopelessness behind to go on a journey much greater than he had ever imagined. It would take him beyond the wall, to Winterfell, and to the Stormlands. And one day back to the capital again. 

He wouldn't be a blacksmith then, he wouldn't be hiding, instead, he would stand on the barricades ready to take down a king. He would have another name. He would be Lord Gendry Baratheon.

He would have found something more. So much more.


	2. Meera

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meera is in the Neck after her return home. She tries to walk a croc in the snow and talk about boys with her grandmother.

A world of white greeted Meera when she opened the cabin door to walk outside. A thin layer of snow had fell during the night and it now covered every leaf, branch, and straw. As if a sack of flour had been poured over the whole swamp. It sparkled so much that it blinded her as sun rays reflected upon the pale sheet.

It had been a few weeks since she returned home to the Neck and the memories of her brother still haunted her around every corner at her father’s castle. Jojen had always been there, sometimes annoying her like brothers tend to do, but now he wasn’t. He would never be again. So to escape the memories Meera had decided to go visit her grandmother for a couple of days.

Her mother’s mother, also called Meera, lived hidden away in the deepest corner of the swamp in a cabin obscured by thick white moss and ancient knotted branches, If you didn’t know where it was you wouldn’t find it. A dark pond lurked right outside the cabin, filled with gators that the old woman fed every day.

Meera took a step outside and filled her lungs with the cool brisk air. It smelled of swamp. It smelled of home. To most people, it would probably seem an unpleasant smell, but Meera had missed the pungent odor. The north had not smelled like this.

She pulled on the leash in her hand. “Come on, Lily,” she said to the crocodile attached to it. Meera had been tasked with walking her grandmother’s pet in the morning. Lily was a small albino crocodile who had the privilege of living inside the cabin and get fed scraps for dinner. Usually, she slept on the floor below Meera’s grandmother’s bed. Lily was a very spoiled creature.

Lily did not oblige. Instead, she opened her jaws slightly and made a clicking sound. Her back feet spread wide as Meera pulled on the leash. Lily was not going anywhere.

“Grandma,” Meera called out with a sigh. “Lily doesn’t want to go outside.”

Her grandmother soon peered out the door as well. “Oh, it’s snowed,” she said. “Of course the poor creature doesn’t want to go outside then. Crocodiles don’t do well in cold.”

Meera’s grandmother threw a blanket on top of the crocodile and bundled the creature up. “I’ll throw some more wood onto the fire so she can get warm,” she said. “And we can warm ourselves too.”

“But what about the crocodiles outside?” Meera asked with concern in her voice. “How will they deal with the cold?”

It usually didn’t get this cold in the Neck, it must have something to do with the threat approaching from the North.

“They’ll hide in the tall grass and hibernate,” her grandmother replied and put her hand on Meera’s shoulder to assure her. They both shared an affinity for the scaly creatures. “They’ll survive like that for a couple of weeks, so hopefully it will get warmer soon.”

Meera threw a worried glance over the pond. She hoped the crocodiles would be all right. She felt her own body shiver from the cold. Her journey up north had made her accustomed to snow but she wasn’t dressed for it currently.

She followed her grandma and Lily inside where they all sat down by the fireplace. The crackling flames warmed her hands as she held them out in front of her. Her grandmother walked up with two mugs of tea, brewed from herbs found in the deep swamp. The tea was spicy and warmed her to the bone. The older Meera sat down beside her granddaughter and Lily quickly curled up by her feet with her mouth agape as she basked in the warmth.  
“You know you can ask me about things,” her grandmother said after they sat in silence for a moment. “Things you might not want to talk about with your father. Things you would have asked your mother about if she had lived.”

Meera looked down at the floor and turned uncomfortably. She didn’t want to talk with anyone about things like that. Certainly not her family members.

“You’re old enough to marry,” her grandmother said. “A woman of that age need to know about men.”

Meera blushed. “I’m not interested in marriage,” she said while still looking down at the floor. “Or men.”

That last part was a lie. She had felt things when looking at men. Things that confused and intrigued her. 

She hadn’t felt such things before she left for the North. She was too young then. And the feelings she had for Bran wasn’t different than the feelings she had for her brother. Meera wanted to protect and care for him. But she didn’t want to rip his shirt off and straddle him.

But she had felt suck things when they arrived at the wall on their journey back. The rangers had taken care of her and Bran before they helped them travel to Winterfell. Tired and dirty she had looked upon the men of the Nightwatch and her insides had done funny things. When she had looked upon Dolorous Edd’s smile as he made a crass joke, butterflies had started to flutter right under her ribs. When she had watched one of the rangers pull his shirt off, when he thought she wasn’t looking, fireflies had ignited under her belly button.

She did want to rip the shirt off those men and straddle them.

So yeah, Meera was interested in men. But not in everything that being a wife entailed.

“So are you interested in women then?” her grandma asked with a curious look.

Meera shook her head, still looking away. “I just… don’t want to give myself away to someone,” she replied. “I want to be free. I want to be me.”

“I’m sure if you find the right man, he would still let you be free. My daughter did, she found your father.”

“There are not many men like my father.”

“There might not be many of them, but if he’s out there I’m sure you can find him.”

“It’s not like good men just come falling into the swamp…”

“You never know who might pass by one day.”

Her grandmother gave her an odd look. Like she knew something. And maybe she did. There were rumors that the older Meera was a witch of the older goods. That she had somehow harnessed the powers of the swamp to tell her secrets no one else knew. 

One day Meera would find him. The right man. He would fall head first right in front of her, and she would fall for him. And no matter what doors closed around her, with him she would always be free.


	3. Tyrek

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It has snowed at Storm's End. Tyrek Lannister, the current holder of the castle, goes out to play in the snow together with his young ward Essie (technically his wife). They romp around the castle and engage in shenanigans.
> 
> Basically, this is pure fluff, mixed up with some light bxb action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is set in The Stag and The Frog universe (my main story published on AO3). In this universe, Tyrek Lannister is the holder of Storm's End after the death of Renly (sent there by Cersei to hold the castle for their family). He is also, in line with book lore, married to the young Lady Ermesande Hayford, who he here is basically raising in a role as older brother/father (Tyrek would be around 17 in this chapter, while Ermesande (called Essie) is about 2)
> 
> This story would be set somewhere around season 7 in the show universe, as the army of the dead is closing in on the kingdom and making the temperatures drop.

“Ty, Ty, Ty! Tyyyyyyyyy!”

Tyrek could hear Essie’s calls growing louder and louder as he walked down the hallway toward the nursery. The sun had just risen over Storm’s End and he knew the little girl wouldn’t quiet down until he got there.

He opened the door and was greeted by a loud squeal. “TYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!”

“Hi, Es,” Tyrek said with a smile, it was hard to be mad at the little girl. Even if he would have wanted to sleep longer. He never did these days though, since he had somehow, just a teenager himself, ended up the guardian of a toddler.

Officially, he was actually the husband of Lady Ermesande Hayford, or Essie as he called her, after they had been wed in a deal brokered by his uncle Tywin to ensure House Hayford’s lands for House Lannister. But in reality, Tyrek had taken on the duties of parenting the little girl. 

They were both orphans. Tyrek’s father had died before he was born and his mother, who never got over losing her husband, took her own life ten years later. Both Essie’s parents had died of a pox shortly after she was born. After his mother passed Tyrek didn’t have anyone to care for him, only Lannister relatives who wanted to use him in their schemes, which made him feel lost and unimportant. He didn’t want Essie to feel the same way. Of course, there were maids around to care for her. But maids came and went. Maids weren’t tied to Essie in the way Tyrek was. They were tied together for life, whether they wanted to be or not. Tyrek knew he was the only constant in Essie’s life, and therefore he wanted her to know that he would always be there for her. Not as a husband, but as someone who cared for her as a parent would. Even if he was barely more than a child himself.

“Ty come!” Essie said and stretched out her little arms towards him. Her messy bed hair stood around her head like a cloud.

“Come here, little wildling,” he said and lifted the child from the crib. “I think there’s something you might want to see outside.”

He walked up to the window, with the little girl’s head rested on his shoulder. As he moved the curtains out of the way Essie gasped. “White!” she exclaimed with amazement on her face. “Pretty!”

The whole world outside was covered by a thin mat of sparkling snow. It would probably melt as soon as the sun warmed up the lands. Snow rarely came to the Stormlands. But the weather had been colder lately, and people talked about it having something to do with a threat from the North.

“You want to go out and play in it?” he asked Essie.

“Can we?” she asked, still looking at the white sheet in bewilderment. It had never snowed before in her lifetime.

He nodded and put the little girl down on the floor. “Let’s get dressed and get outside before the maids come and get you for breakfast!”

The maids usually took care of Essie during the day while Tyrek attended the duties as the holder of the castle. Not that there was really much for him to do. The castle was under siege for about two years and there was no end in sight. They were at a stalemate, with neither side wanting to give in. The Ironfleet provided the castle with food through the tunnels below so there was no pressing need to leave either, it was comfortable but boring. Tyrek had no other choice but to wait for something to happen since if he abandoned the castle he suspected his cousin Cersei would execute him on the spot. His role in her games was to hold this castle for their family until the war against the Dragon Queen was over. Then he would hopefully be rewarded for his loyalty. 

Tyrek sat down on the floor next to a dresser and picked out some clothes for Essie to wear. The little girl currently ran around the room like a frisky cat. “Come here, you silly girl,” he said. “You need clothes to go outside.”

Essie seemed to have no intention of obliging so when she ran past he threw himself to catch her, growling like a lion and making the little girl giggle uncontrollably. He gently picked her up and put her in his lap to get dressed. “Sit still, Es,” he mumbled while he focused on getting the little girl to stop squirming long enough for him to be able to get an item of clothing on. It was a tedious and delicate process. Essie at times turned into goo and tried to melt out of his lap and at other times got rigid and stiff as a board.

A knitted sweater went on top of the nightgown, warm fuzzy socks on her feet, a wool coat on top of the sweater, mittens to protect her hands from the cold, and a hat that tied under her chin to warm her head and hide her messy hair.

As he tried to wrangle her little hands into the mittens a maid peaked inside. “Lord Tyrek,” she said with a sigh. “I’ve told you that you don’t have to dress the girl. You’re a lord, not her nanny. I’ll dress her later.”

“We’re just going outside for a bit, Matrice” he replied. “Essie wants to play in the snow.”

“Ladies shouldn’t play in the snow.”

“She’s a child, and so am I. And we want to play in the snow.”

Matrice just shook her head and left. She seemed to be constantly bewildered by the young lord who ruled the castle and his insistence to actually care for the child he had been wed to.

When Essie was dressed Tyrek took her by the hand and led her down the stairs towards the courtyard. He grabbed a coat for himself on the way.

As the door opened and the bright white courtyard was revealed Essie just stood there in amazement. Tyrek had to prompt her to actually walk outside. “Let’s go, Es,” he said.

The little girl walked two steps outside but stopped, seemingly unsure of whether the snow was safe to walk on.

“Look, Essie,” Tyrek said as he put his feet into the powdery whiteness. “It’s all right.”

Essie still looked hesitant put took one step into the snow. After staying there pondering for a bit she took another step. She put her little hand into the snow and look in wonderment at the powder on her mitten, then she stretched out her tongue and licked it.

“Does it taste good, Es?” Tyrek asked with a smile. Hopefully, snow wasn’t bad for you to eat. He really didn’t know, but from what he had heard it wasn’t much different from water.

The little girl nodded enthusiastically. 

Tyrek put his own hand, he had forgotten to bring mittens, into the snow as well and felt the powdery cold substance slip between his fingers. He put it up to his mouth as well and stuck his tongue out to lick. He figured if Essie had tasted it, he could just as well do it too. It was like ice against his tongue, a cold explosion that soon was tempered down by his body heat.

“How does the snow taste, Lord Tyrek?” a voice asked behind him.

Tyrek turned around and was greeted by the charming smile of Bastian Storm. A boy, about Tyrek’s age, who had served as a squire under Renly Baratheon. When Renly died Bastian had been left behind at the castle with no knight to serve. These days he mostly practiced his sword skills in the tunnels and took on guard duties on top of the walls, awaiting one day being able to become a knight himself once the siege broke.

“Cold,” Tyrek replied and returned the smile. An odd fluttering feeling had started right below his ribcage when Bastian smiled at him, and he couldn’t help but observe how snowflakes glistened in the other boy’s hair and made his brown eyes sparkle with them. But he didn’t know why any of these things happened.

“I’m just showing Essie the snow,” Tyrek added, not wanting Bastian to think he was a child who wanted to play in the snow himself. Why he didn’t want this was unclear.

“Are you sure you don’t want to play in the snow yourself, Lord Tyrek?” Bastian asked with a playful glint in his eyes. Apparently, he had seen right through Tyrek’s excuses.

“I’m a lord, I don’t play,” Tyrek replied.

“Too bad,” Bastian said. “Because I want to play!”

He bent down and caught a handful of snow which he quickly mashed into a snowball that he lobbed at Tyrek. Tyrek ducked and leaned down to form a snowball himself. His throw hit its target right in the chest.

Bastian fell down in an overdramatic manner. “I’ve been hit!” he yelled.

“Get him, Es,” Tyrek yelled. Essie obliged quickly and ran over to throw herself on top of Bastian’s leg. 

“Ah, the enemy got me,” Bastian spouted and tried to roll in the snow with Essie on him. The little girl giggled in delight. Tyrek reached them as well and used both his hands to shuffled a handful of snow over Bastian’s face.

“I give up,” Bastian mumbled through the snow. 

Tyrek laid down beside him on the ground. Essie immediately threw herself on his chest. “I might have wanted to play in the snow too,” he said sheepishly and glanced toward Bastian. 

“Why didn’t you say so then?”

“I didn’t… want you to think…”

“Think what?”

“I don’t know… that I’m childish.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being childish. And why do you care what I think of you, Lord Tyrek?”

Tyrek didn’t have an answer to that. Luckily Essie chose that moment to shove a fistful of snow into Tyrek’s face. He shook his blond curls while snorting furiously to try to get the snow out of his eyes and nose. “Please don’t do that, Es,” he complained.

“Ty did to Bas.”

“I guess I did…”

He stood up himself and then helped Essie get up. Somehow she had managed to get snow everywhere so he brushed her off a bit. “Instead of throwing snow at each other,” he said. “Maybe we should throw it at those Stormlanders out there.” 

Bastian looked at him in surprise. “Do we dare to do that?” he asked.

“It’s not like they can take the castle anyway. A few snowballs won’t change that.”

Tyrek picked Essie up from the ground and put her on his shoulder. The little girl immediately put her hands in his hair and brushed some snow into his eyes. Tyrek had to blink to not get blinded. “Are you holding on, Es?” he asked. “Don’t let go.”

“Not let go!” Essie hollered and pulled his hair as she secured her grip. Tyrek grimaced but didn’t protest.

With Essie safely secured he walked up the stairs to the walls, from where they could see the Stormlanders camps below. Right on the other side of the moat, a young man stood guard. His job seemed to be to report if anything happened inside the castle.

Tyrek recognized the tall young man with messy hair. He didn’t know his first name but he often saw him out there. He looked friendly and kind. Tyrek felt like they could have been friends if things had been different.

“Aim for him,” Tyrek told Bastian and pointed towards the young man.

Bastian picked up a handful of snow from above the wall and rolled it carefully into a ball. He needed to make sure the projectile was perfectly formed to reach its target.

Tyrek and Essie crouched down behind the wall as Bastian aimed carefully. Then he lunged the ball at its target and threw himself down behind the wall as well. They all giggled together at their antics.

“Ouch!” was soon heard from outside the walls. It seemed like the ball had reached its intended victim.

“What in the gods? Who the fork is throwing snowballs?” the young man cursed.

Tyrek peaked over the wall slightly, trying not to be seen. He failed.

“Tyrek Lannister?” the young man spouted. “I can see your dumb blond hair up there! I know it was you!”

Tyrek got a bit scared, maybe the young man would call the other Stormlanders and this would become a whole thing. Maybe this hadn’t been a good idea after all.

He stood up to apologize and was welcomed by a snowball right in his face. “What the fork!” he exclaimed.

The young man outside was bent double laughing. “The snow matches your hair,” he said and pointed at Tyrek’s blond curls.

Tyrek pondered retaliating but he got a bit worried Essie would get hit if they continued their war. “What is your name?” he instead shouted after the young man.

The man turned around and fired off a warm smile. “I’m Devan Seaworth,” he said. “Nice to meet you, Lord Lannister.”

***  
Tyrek, Essie, and Bastian played around a while longer in the courtyard before heading inside. It was soon time for the morning council meeting that Tyrek had to attend. The morning sunlight had started to melt away the snow into a slush anyway.

Essie ran ahead of the boys up the stairs to the floor where all the bedrooms were.

“You find me, Ty!” Essie yelled. 

“I’ll catch up and find you soon, Es,” he replied, still out of breath from their games.

Just as he got up to the floor where the bedrooms were he heard a click from his bedroom door. The lock! Essie had locked the door behind her.

Tyrek ran up to the door and threw himself on the handle. It was, as he had suspected, locked. Bastian was right behind him by the door. “Did she lock it?” he asked.

Tyrek nodded. “Essie!” he shouted. “Can you unlock the door? You can’t get out otherwise.”

“No,” was heard from the other side. “I hide.”

“You hid well, Es. I can’t find you. So can you open the door now?”

No answer. Essie must have moved away from the door. “Essie!” Tyrek yelled. “Can you get to the door? You need to let me in.”

Suddenly he felt someone twist the handle from the other side. “I can’t,” Essie said on the other side of the door, Tyrek could hear the panic in her voice. “Can’t open!”

Light sobs and wails seeped through the door. “Essie,” Tyrek said in a calmer tone, not wanting to scare her. “Just turn the key. It’s under the handle.”

He knew the key could be a bit tricky though, you had to get it in the exact right position to be able to open it. 

The key moved slightly in the lock but Essie seemed to be unable to figure it out. “Me stuck,” she said in a defeated tone.

“I’ll figure something out,” he said. “Just wait there.”

“There are some tools in the guard room,” Bastian said. “I can probably get the lock off the door with them.”

Tyrek nodded and put a hand on Bastian’s shoulder. “Thank you,” he said, surprised by the tingles radiating from the touch.

While Bastian got the tools Tyrek tried to keep Essie calm. He told her stories about dragons. Essie loved dragons.

Bastian soon returned with a box full of tools. In a fast manner, he started unscrewing the plate holding the lock in place. One by one the screws came out and eventually, the whole lock fell off. 

Tyrek turned the knob again and this time the door came open. One moment later, Essie threw herself in his arms. “Tyyyyyy!” she squealed and burrowed her face in his shoulder. “Door dumb.”

He stroked the girl’s hair while he held her little shivering body. “It’s fine now, Essie,” he said. “The dumb door is fixed. But maybe you should try to avoid locking doors behind you in the future…”

“Should I put the lock back?” Bastian asked.

Tyrek shook his head. “Just leave it off,” he said. “Then she can’t lock herself in there again. And thank you for helping out.”

“Anytime,” Bastian said with a curious smile that Tyrek couldn’t quite interpret. “Anytime you need me, Lord Tyrek.”

“There you are!” a voice exclaimed behind them. Tyrek looked up to see Matrice.

“You should be at the council meeting Lord Tyrek, and the girl should be dressed and have breakfast. Why are you still playing around?”

“We’re not-”

Before Tyrek could protest Matrice had snatched Essie out of his arms. “Ty!” the little girl cried out and stretched her arms towards him.

“Let Matrice change you into some dry clothes and give you something warm to eat,” he said and got up from the floor to give Essie a stroke on the cheek. “I’ll come and check on you later.”

“More dragons?” Essie asked excitedly.

“More dragons,” he said with a sigh, wondering how he was supposed to keep coming up with new dragon stories. 

As Matrice walked away with Essie in her arms Tyrek sat down on the floor next to Bastian again. His clothes were still wet, he really should change before going to the council meeting. But right now he felt like breathing for a moment, he felt like sitting down, he felt like being close to Bastian.

The hallway around them was empty and quiet. No maids or other prying eyes close by.

Almost unnoticeable Tyrek moved a little bit closer to Bastian, then a little bit more. Bastian turned his head and looked at him, without saying a word. Their faces were only inches apart now. 

Slowly, so slowly, they both breached that distance. Tyrek felt Bastian’s hand on his cheek, it stroked away a few wet strands of hair and then lingered on his cheek. A moment later their lips united. Cold shivering lips moving in unison, somehow warming each other. 

A kiss. Tyrek Lannister’s first kiss.

The touch warmed Tyrek’s whole being, like a fire starting in his lips and spreading like wildfire throughout his body. The intensity of the emotion scared him.

A sudden sound spooked him, a door perhaps. Someone might come. Tyrek withdrew his lips from Bastian’s. He felt confused and scared. Both of his own feelings and what other people would think if they saw them. This was inappropriate.

“I need to…” he started in a trembling voice while he scurried up from the floor. “I need to get down to the hall for the council meeting.”

He hurried away from the intense emotions. Inappropriate relations could get him in trouble. There really was no telling what his cousin Cersei would do if such rumors reached her. Lannisters weren’t kind to family members who could be construed to have betrayed their house. Perhaps he would lose Essie if she found out. Marriages could be annulled on such grounds. While Tyrek hadn’t been happy when he was first told about the marriage he couldn’t imagine life without Essie now, and he knew the little girl would be heartbroken if he was taken from her.

So when he reached the staircase he took a deep breath. He bottled all the emotions up inside. For Essie’s sake.

One day Tyrek would be the last Lannister standing. The last hope of a house that fell victim to their own games and schemes. He would no longer need to fear the wrath of his family. He would no longer need to bottle up his emotions. But he would also no longer be able to stand on his own two feet, as he would be the last victim of House Lannister’s schemes. Luckily he would have people around him to support him and care for him, and together they would usher in a new dawn for his house, based not on an urge for power and wealth but on love and understanding.


End file.
